Tune into an Outcast
by Art n' Music
Summary: Swizzle has failed to win the race many times, he lost count and it's really bringing him down. Only the magic of music can keep his spirits up. But his spirit goes down so much he's not sure he can get it back up. Until a melodic voice reaches his ears, opening something inside his mind he doesn't think is true.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: My Life**

In the sugary sweet land of Sugar Rush, a group of sweet-themed teenagers drive around a track that travels around sugary landmarks. In the lead is a girl with white hair and wearing red dress, pink jacket, and boots. Right behind her is a friend dressed in cake frosting colors and a lit candle on her head, in third place is a blonde boy wearing a Reese's cup hat and wears a brown jacket, an orange and yellow shirt, brown jeans and dark brown boots. Right behind him is a man with dark-green hair topped with a crooked hat shaded with different greens and blues, wears an ocean blue jacket unzipped, yellow shirt underneath, a gold chain around his neck, and striped jeans ending with green shoes, skin a light chocolate brown. He swivels around the boy called Rancis and quickly passes Candlehead around a U-turn, finally driving up to racer-in-lead, Taffyta Muttonfudge. She looks in her side-view mirror and spots Swizzle Malarkey a.k.a. The Swizz. At first she was shocked but then grins and gloats, "You think you can beat me, Malarkey?"

"I know I can!" He moves the gearshift and speeds up, zooming out of the ice scream mountain and zipping past Taffyta. Swizzle looks back and smirks before gloating back, "Told you I can!" He turns back to the road and gloats, "Now it's nothing but downhill from here." The pops racer was about to pass the lead when a gunshot and whistle distracts him. He looks in his mirror to find a small gumdrop zipping straight toward his cart mutters, "Uh oh."

The Sweet Seeker gumball blasts the Tongue Twister cart and the Swizz swirls the steering wheel to avoid crashing, but he smashes through a bunch of lollipop trees and into small candy wall. The motion he had from racing pushes his head forward and bangs on the rock-hard candy steering wheel, immediately seeing colorful spots everywhere and a shroud of darkness at the edge of his vision. Swizzle groans in pain, clutching his head, and declares, "I hate Sweet Seekers."

Behind him, racers of all candy variety rushes past him, including the ruler of Sugar Rush, King Candy. The racer shakes his head to clear it, but only makes it worse, and he reverses back into the track and makes his way to the finish line. As he speeds to make it on the roster, the wind whistles into his ear, making the headache worsen and the boy's vision darker, but he tries to keep it back. It doesn't help when the lights everywhere float around, distorting the track in front of him. Swizzle finally spots the racer in front of him when a loud voice shouts, "Twelfth place, Swizzle Malarkey!"

The last-place racer groans miserably and slowly climbs out of his cart. When he lands, a new wave of pain erupts in his head and he clutches it again. Taffyta notices the motion and asks, "What's the matter? Banged your head, Swizzle?"

"Yeah, but I'm alright," he says, "I just need some rest, that's all."

"You sure? It doesn't have anything to do losing another Random Roster Race _again_?" the second best suggests, making her smirk that annoys Swizzle. "No, of course not." _That's only a part of it._

The Swizz climbs back in his cart and drives back to his house, but not before hearing the hard-candy girl shout, "Maybe you should rest! Then your racing won't be as bad as a glitch!" and her posse starts laughing, only adding more rage in the racer. His mind was so wrapped up on his failure and Taffyta's teasing that he didn't see someone walking across the road until the last second. "Whoa!" He quickly swerves around the shocked girl and tries to get back in control of his ride, but one side starts to tip and Swizzle rolls out of it to avoid damage to himself. When he stops, the Swizz clutches his head in pain again since the roll made his head hit the ground. After a while of lying on the ground, the racer gets back up and stumbles over to his cart, which is on its back. He looks over it to try and find the girl that was almost a road stain but she vanished. Swizzle huffs and starts working on getting his ride back on its wheels while muttering, "Great. First this headache, then Taffyta teases about my racing, and now some idiot almost kills me. Can my luck get any worse?"

"Hi there."

"What?" He bangs his head on the side of his cart and screams in pain, clutching it with one hand while using the other to help lean on the cart since he's feeling lighter and unstable on his feet. The Swizz slowly turns around and sees the very last person he wants to see. He groans and asks sourly, "What do you want, Glitch?"

"Uh first, I have a name, Mr. Rude," the girl snaps back, "And second, I was wondering if you need help."

"I don't need help from the likes of you." Swizzle tries to push his cart back on the wheels again but his mind is too preoccupied with the mega headache so he stumbles on his feet. The glitch chuckles a little and asks, "You sure? You don't look okay to…do anything."

"I said I can handle it! Now get out of here." He continues to push the car and finally gets it on the side. The girl crosses her arms and says, "Hmph. Fine then. Get your ride back without me, Swizz-jerk." She walks up and tips the cart back down while walking back into the forest. Swizzle closes his mouth to keep a scream back but lets a stifle out, kicking some chocolate sand up. "I hate that glitch!"

After spending about thirty minutes getting his cart back on the wheels, Swizzle drives into the candy garage at his house and walks into the green and blue living room. On his way to the small room, he passes by a large stereo and stops, getting an idea. His headache isn't as bad as it was earlier, and he needs something to lighten his mood from the day. So he grabs a disk from a nearby shelf and slips it in, taking a few steps back while it loads. He bows his head to get in the mood and soon the song starts and Swizzle sings the lyrics while dancing to the rhythm.

"_I'm at a payphone, trying to call home_

_All of my change I spend on you_

_Where have the times gone? Baby it's all wrong._

_Where are the plans we made for two?_

_Yeah, I,_

_I know it's hard to remember,_

_The people we used to be_

_It's even harder to picture,_

_That you're not here next to me._

_You say it's too late to make it, _

_But is it too late to try?_

_And in our time that you wasted_

_All of our bridges burned down._

_I've wasted my nights,_

_You turned out the lights_

_Now I'm paralyzed,_

_Still stuck in that time, when we called it love,_

_But even the sun sets in paradise._

_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_

_All of my change I spent on you._

_Where have the times gone? Baby it's all wrong._

_Where are the plans we made for two?_

_If happy ever after did exist_

_I would still be holding you like this._

_All those fairy tales are full of it_

_One more stupid love song, I'll be sick._

_Oh, you turned your back on tomorrow_

'_Cause you forgot yesterday._

_I gave you my love to borrow,_

_But you just gave it away._

_You can't expect me to be fine._

_I don't expect you to care._

_I know I've said it before_

_But all of our bridges burned down._

_I've wasted my nights_

_You turned out the lights_

_Now I'm paralyzed,_

_Still stuck in that time when we called it love,_

_But even the sun sets in paradise._

_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_

_All of my change I spent on you._

_Where have the times gone? Baby it's all wrong._

_Where are the plans we made for two?_

_If happy ever after did exist_

_I would still be holding you like this._

_All those fairy tales are full of it._

_One more stupid love song, I'll be sick._

_Now I'm at a payphone._

_(Man, _shoot_ that _stuff

_I'll be out spending all this money_

_While you're sitting round wondering_

_Why it wasn't you who came up from nothing._

_Made it from the bottom_

_Now when you see me I'm stunning,_

_And all of my cars start with a push of a button._

_Telling me the chances I blew up_

_Or whatever you call it,_

_Switch the number to my phone_

_So you never could call it._

_Don't nee0 d my name on my show,_

_You can tell it I'm _makin'_._

_Swish, what a shame could have got picked._

_Had a really good game but you missed your last shot_

_So you talk about who you see at the top_

_Or what you could have saw_

_But sad to say it's over for._

_Phantom pulled up valet opens doors_

_Wiz like go away, got what you was looking for_

_Now it's me who they want,_

_So you can go and take that little piece of it with you.)_

_I'm at a payphone trying to call home_

_All of my change I spent on you._

_Where have the times gone? Baby it's all wrong._

_Where are the plans we made for two?_

_If happy ever after did exist_

_I would still be holding you like this._

_All those fairy tales are full of it._

_One more stupid love song, I'll be sick._

_Now I'm at a payphone._

When the song ends, Swizzle takes a breath but then clutches his head, the pain back in it. "Oohh, it was worth it. I should really get some rest now." He finally walks into his room and jumps onto his bed, snoring instantly.

* * *

**Song: Payphone by Maroon 5**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Anniversary Plans**

After waking up to find the sunlight hitting his face, Swizzle stretches his arms to loosen his body and jumps out of his bed to discover his headache has gone down to a dull ache. He smiles and walks into the small kitchen to grab a cereal-coated bar before heading out on his Tongue Twister. Soon, he makes it to the racetrack where the other racers are gathered. Sticky Wipplesnit, a recolor of Minty Zaki, hears the soft purr of a familiar engine and turns around to find Swizzle stopping. Being the only _true_ friend of the singer and dancer, maybe something a little more in her head, she walks up and greets, "Hi Swizzle!"

"Hey Sticky!" he shouts back, hopping out of his cart. He winks at the recolor, making her blush and giggle childishly. She asks, "So how's your head? You didn't look so good after the Roster Race."

"I'm fine now."

"Well, look who decided to show up," Taffyta mocks, walking up with her posse behind, Rancis Fluggerbutter and Candlehead, a bored expression on her face. "Why are you here anyway? You lost the race. Shouldn't you be at home lying on your bed in shame?"

"Actually, I've already had a wonderful sleep, Muttonfudge," the Swizz says with his usual, playful smirk on. "And so what if I lost? There's always the next Roster Race."

"Really? You still want to race?" She swings her lollipop around her finger and adds, "I thought you would run out of coins by now."

"You don't have to worry about that. I have enough coins to race for a loooong while."

"Oh really? Why keep continuing to race when every time you're just going to lose over and over again?"

Swizzle answers, "You should know my philosophy. 'Live life to your last breath'."

Taffyta scoffs and walks off, followed closely by Rancis and Candlehead. The singer turns back to his only friend right now and asks, "Anyway, did King Candy announce anything yet?"

"He hasn't got here. But he should any minute now."

Everyone hears a roar vibrate in the air and they turn around to find their ruler driving over. Sticky corrects, "I mean any second now."

The Swizz chuckles a little and the two walk up along with the other racers. King Candy declares, "Hello, my loyal subjects! Have some candy!" He throws candy from hidden pockets to everyone before continuing, "I have great news. In six days, it will be Sugar Rush's 15th anniversary!"

Immediate chatter starts among the racers and Rancis says, "Wow. We've been played for fifteen years already? Shocking."

"And so," Candy interrupts the chit-chat, "to celebrate, I'm hosting a huge party at the castle. Now I'll need some help with the banquet and invitations. I'll also need some entertainment for the guests."

Everyone starts volunteering for the jobs they want to do. Swizzle hears Candlehead, Jubileena Bing-Bing, and Creumbelina Di Carmello will help the cooks with food. Minty Zaki and her recolor Torvald Batterbutter will pass out flyers to the party. There are a few suggestions for entertainment, mostly singing and dancing, so the Swizz steps up and says, "You know, I can sing at the party."

The racers turn their eyes at boy, most not really sure what he said, and Taffyta asks, "You sing?"

"Yeah. I can dance, too," he adds proudly.

"No way. There's just no way you can dance, much less sing."

"Of course I can. Ask Sticky here."

"He can!" she agrees.

The second-best racer rolls her eyes and says, "She'll agree to anything you say."

"No I don't!"

"If anyone should dance at the party, it should be me."

"Well let's see if you think the same after watching this." Swizzle starts breakdancing on the spot, shocking the unbelievers and making King Candy grin in excitement and astound. When the dancer ends with a launch back onto his feet and crossing his arms, the king says, "Oh-ho, wonderful performance!"

Everyone except the trio claps while Swizzle takes a bow. Candlehead starts to join but a look from her leader made her stop midway. The platinum-head turns back to the smirking show-off then says, "So you can perform some moves. Big deal. I could sing way better than you."

"You are kidding, right?" The Swizz asks, grinning. "I've heard you sing. _With the free time on my side; I check around the land on my ride. One day, I find you singing alone; and then saw birds fall down and turn to bone. At first I thought a sick frog was nearby; I realized it was Taffyta with the voice of a guy. What you say is all a lie; you can't get better no matter how hard you try! On the track, you may be the queen whizz; but you will never be as great as the Swizz_," Swizzle ends his rap with both thumbs pointed at him, stunning about everyone within hearing range. All at once, the racers and king start clapping again, except for Taffyta, whose lollipop drops from her gawking jaw. The rapper grins at her dumbfounded look and says, "Yeah. While you were racing out there, I was practicing on some other talents so to pass the time until the next Roster Race. So yeah, I'm like the king of dance and song."

The Minty recolor shouts, "Swizzle, that was awesome!"

"Why, thank you."

The king giggles in his usual, sugar-rush way then says, "Perfect! Swizzle Malarkey, you will be the main course of my entertainment. But, if I may suggest, I think the roof will skyrocket if you have a duet with you."

"I was thinking the same thing, KC," the Swizz states, "but I haven't found anyone with the voice I'm looking for."

"Oh well. I'm not asking you to find one before the party. It's just that it would be really nice. So, you up for it?"

"I'm up for any challenge the arcade gives me."

"Great! Now, all avatars get ready for the race! The arcade opens in a few minutes!" The king walks back into his cart and drives to the starting line. The avatars follow him but Taffyta stays and says to Swizzle, "If you want, you can watch me race and take some notes so you can race better." She chuckles then drives off to the track, leaving the Swizz annoyed but not as annoyed as Sticky. "Uugh, she is such an airhead!" she shouts while the racers that didn't make it to the top nine walk off somewhere. "Just because she's the best racer."

"Second best, Sticky. Second best," Swizzle corrects, walking away. "That thought makes me smile. But not by much. Good thing I have something that will bring a smile on my face."

A voice says, "Would it be making a prank on Taffyta? Because I totally have a plan."

The two friends turn around and find the Sugar Rush outcast Glitch, Vanellope Von Schweetz, leaning against a candy tree with crossed arms and her mischievous smirk on. The recolor screams and Swizzle crosses his arms and holding a look of annoyance. "What are you doing here, of all places?"

"I just came to see what King Cuckoo had to say. What I wasn't expecting was a show to humiliate Taffyta. I enjoyed it quite a lot."

"Well, I'm glad you had fun but now why don't you get out of here, freak? I need to practice for the party."

"Oh yeah, that's right, the 15th anniversary party. Well good luck with that. I sure wish I could help," she says while walking over.

"You? You don't have anything to show for the party, much less even sing and dance. Besides, I'd like to see you get inside the castle." He pushes the glitch to the side and starts walking to his ride. He stops when Vanellope starts talking again, "Maybe I can't. But you don't even know me well enough to say what I can and can't do, Swizz. Bye." The outcast turns around to walk back in the forest, her long, black ponytail swishing in a mockingly goodbye. The Swizz, annoyed and slightly confused, finally says, "I need some time to myself," before jumping on his cart and heading to his hangout. Sticky watches her friend with concerning eyes, battling with herself to either follow or just go home. Finally, she decides to let her friend have his space and walks over to her other recolor friends.

Meanwhile, Swizzle pushes a cotton candy bush and walks into a clearing where the sun is slightly covered from the trees, a stereo set, and far from the kingdom so he can be left alone when he wants to. The rapper walks to his candy stereo set and looks through his selection of songs, seeing which one he's in the mood for. Can't decide what, he puts a few disks in the selection slots and clicks on the 'random' button. The Swizz takes a few steps back while the machine selects a song then hears a rustle to his right. Turning his head, he finds a cotton candy bush that is moving slightly but distinguishes it as the wind's fault. The stereo finally picks a song called 'Feel This Moment'.

_Ask for money, and get it viced._

_Ask for advice, get money twice._

_I'm from the dirty, but that chico nice._

_Ya'll call it a moment, I call it life._

_**[One day when the light is glowing**_

_**I'll be in my castle golden.**_

_**But until the gates are open**_

_**I just wanna feel this moment**_

_**OoOOoohhh. I just want to feel this moment.**_

_**OooOOoohh. I just want to feel this moment]**_

_Mr. Worldwide, Christina Aguilera_

_Oye Mamita, come one, dale,_

_Que la cosa esta rica._

_**[I just want to feel this moment]**_

_Reporting live from the tallest building in Tokyo_

_Long ways from the hard ways, Bill sos, and oh yeas_

_They count it always, 305 all day_

_Now baby we can party,_

_Oh baby we can party._

_She read books, especially about red rooms_

_And tight ups, I got it hooked,_

_Cause she seen me in a suit with the red ta-ta up_

_Meet and greet, nice to meet ya_

_But time is money; only difference is I own it_

_Now let's stop time and enjoy this moment._

When the duet starts, Swizzle stops his dancing, hearing a female voice singing from somewhere around him, and it's not coming from the stereo.

_(One day when the light is glowing_

_I'll be in my castle golden_

_But until the gates are open_

_I just wanna feel this moment_

_OooOOohh. I just wanna feel this moment_

_OoooOOoohh. I just wanna feel this moment.)_

The voice sounds perfect to Swizzle. It's like five angels are coming down and singing their melody flawlessly yet it's coming from a physical person. The voice is one he's been looking for all his life. He continues to look for the person while singing his part.

_I see the future but live for the moment_

_Make sense don't it_

_Now make dollars, I mean billions_

_I'm a genius, I mean brilliant_

_This street is what scoot em_

_And made em slicker, to slick with the ruler_

_I've lost a lot, and learned a lot_

_But I'm still undefeated like Zula_

_I'm far from cheap_

_I break down companies with all my peeps_

_Baby we can travel the world_

_And not given view, and all you can see_

_Time is money; only difference is I own it_

_Like a stop watch, let's stop time_

_And enjoy this moment_

_(One day when the light is glowing_

_I'll be in my castle golden_

_But until the gates are open_

_I just wanna feel this moment_

_OooOOohh. I just wanna feel this moment_

_OoooOOoohh. I just wanna feel this moment.)_

_{Instrumental}_

_(OooOOohh. I just wanna feel this moment_

_OoooOOoohh. I just wanna feel this moment.)_

The song ends but Swizzle doesn't find the girl that was singing with him. He stops at the edge of the clearing and shouts, "Who are you?"

No one answers but a small chuckle resounds around the trees, and Swizzle thought it sounds familiar. "Sticky, is that you?"

This time, only silence answers the question. Stumped, the racer thought she left so he switches off his stereo set and jumps back on his racing car, doing a practice race on one of the tracks to clear his head. But no matter how many fancy tricks he made or how long he races himself, Swizzle can't get the voice out of his head. _I need to find her. She could be the perfect partner, _the Swizz thinks.

* * *

**Song: Feel This Moment by Pitbull Featuring Christina Aguilera**


End file.
